Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate Court for a trial date hearing. Pistorius will go trial in March charged with murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day. (AFP). Read more here.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 89, was sworn in for a five-year term on Thursday after Zimbabwe's highest court on Tuesday threw out a legal challenge that alleged the 31 July elections won were marred by fraud. (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP)

Public hearings into the country's arms deal commenced again this week. Rear Admiral Alan Green is seen during one of these hearings. He was expected to shed light on the SANDF’s mandate and its functions and policies which culminated in the decision to purchase arms at the Seriti Commission of Inquiry. (Werner Beukes, Sapa)

A coal ship (the MV Smart) ran aground and split into two near Richards Bay. The ship was abandoned after it started to suffer structural damage. (Sapa). See more pictures here.

The Farlam Commission of Inquiry continued at its new location in Centurion. Justice Minister Jeff Radebe also announced the state will not be funding the miners’ legal fees. Here North West deputy police commissioner General William Mpembe is seen testifying. (Werner Beukes, Sapa). Read more here.

Here’s a story for all you royalists out there. The first official pictures of the Cambridge family were released on Monday. The pictures of Prince William and Kate were taken by her father Micheal earlier this month. (AFP). Read more here.

Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele made headlines when she disclosed her financial wealth (of R55m) at a press conference in Johannebsurg. She called on President Jacob Zuma to do the same. (Sapa)

An Indian villager smokes tobacco as he joins other protesters during a rally demanding pension for elderly poor citizens in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking giving hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. He also announced being transgender in a statement. He now wants to live as a woman named Chelsea. (Patrick Semansky, AP)

Security forces have retaken control of a overcrowded prison in western Indonesia following a night-long riot, and have captured most of the estimated 30 convicts who escaped. Here an inmate looks out from behind the gate of Labuhan Ruku prison after a riot, in Batubara, North Sumatra, Indonesia.(Binsar Bakkara, AP). Read more here.

For the animal lover out there: A zoo keeper weighs a waxy monkey frog during the annual weigh-in at London Zoo, London. The frog weighted in at 40g. (Sang Tan, AP). See some of our latest user pet pics here.

A 20-year-old gunman took two teachers hostage before shooting at officers at a school in Georgia. He later surrendered. Nobody was hurt. Here Nicole Webb cries as she talks on a phone while waiting for her son outside the school. (John Bazemore, AP). Read more here.

Around 2 000 mineworkers angry at Anglo American Platinum's plans to cut 6,900 jobs in South Africa protested, but said they would meet management before deciding on strike action. Here Amcu leader Joseph Mathunjwa addresses mineworkers gathered in the Marikana area. (AFP)

The Syrian government has denied allegations it used chemical weapons in artillery barrages on the area known as eastern Ghouta on Wednesday. Here columns of smoke are seen rising from heavy shelling in the Jobar neighbourhood in west Damascus, in Cairo, Syria. (AFP)

Fires raged in the north and centre of Portugal. Portuguese authorities said one firefighter has died and six were injured as they battled a wildfire in Tondela. (Francisco Seco, AP)

Protest marches were held across the world against a new Russian law on homosexuality. Here a demonstrator wears a t-shirt with a picture of a rouged Vladimir Putin as he takes part in a protest in Copenhagen, Denmark. (AFP)

Floods paralysed The Philippines, Pakistan and China. Here a man pulls his wife in an inflatable boat as they buy food at a submerged market in Cavite, southwest of Manila. (Ted Aljibe, AFP).

Protests flared up outside the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan where Bo Xilai , cnce one of China's highest-flying politicians, found himselfon trial for bribery and abuse of power. (Mark Ralston, AFP)

A strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock rattled Mexico on Wednesday, causing evacuations of buildings in the capital and hotels in the Pacific resort of Acapulco. Here a man looks at the damage caused. (AFP)

Egyptian militants killed 25 policemen in the deadliest attack of its kind in years. Here the mother of Egyptian policeman Amr Shebl, who was killed in an attack is comforted by a relative as she mourns. (AFP)

Egypt's toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak is expected to leave jail after a court ordered him released pending trial, but he will immediately be placed under house arrest. Here an Egyptian supporter of raises up his portrait outside the Tora prison where Mubarak is detained. (Mohamed El-Shahed, AFP)

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